Device for playing games of skill



IOHARDS. ING GAMES 0]? SKILL.

Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

cm, mum-urns w MTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERWIN H. RICHARDS, OF NORVVALK, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MILTON BRADLEY COMPANY, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

DEVICE FOR PLAYING GAil/IES OF SKILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No; 448,574, dated March 17, 1891. Application filed November 20, 1890- Serial No. 371,996. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ERWIN H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norwalk, in the county of Huron and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Devices for Playing Games of Skill, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improved devices for playing a game of skill.

The devices consist of a board having parallel rows of depressions or pockets and movable dice or beads for men.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, the game devices are illustrated.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the board, showing men disposed thereon as in the course of play. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section ofthe board, taken on the line a; 00, which is through one row of pockets. Fig. 3 is a very much enlarged representation of one of the movable men.

As shown, the board ahas four parallel rows of holes or pockets 6, eleven in each row, and at each end the board is provided with a receptacle d for containing the captured men in the playing of the game or for containing all the men when the board is in disuse or transportation. Acover is to be provided,

as indicated by dotted lines fin Fig. 2: Sixty men are deem ed to beasuflicientand desirable number to employ.

The board is placed between the players, as usual, with the longer sides next to them. The row of pockets then nearest each player is considered as such players outer row, while the row of pockets next within such outer row is called the players inner row. Before beginning the game each player places a single man in each of the pockets of his outer row and two men in each pocket of his inner row,

except that the pocket on his extreme left in his inner row is left vacant and the one next to it holds but one man. As indicated by the arrows, all moves in the inner row are from right to left and those in the outer row from left to right. As the players face each other, the moves in the two inner rows are necessarily in opposite directions. The first player chooses any pocket in his inner row which contains more than one man from which to start his first move, and begins the game by picking up all the men in that pocket and dropping them one by one in each of the consecutive pockets to the left until all the men so picked up have been distributed. If the last counter drops into an occupied pocket, the player continues by picking up all the men in that pocket, including the one dropped, and disposing of them as before. His move must continue in this way until the last man in his hand falls into an empty pocket, and the move may extend around the course into the outer row, or, if of sufficient duration, around again into the inner row, as indicated by the arrows. If this empty pocket into which the last man falls is in the inner rows and has opposite it a pocketin the opponents inner row containing one or more men, the player captures these men and removes them to his receptacle cl, and if there are one or more men in the corresponding opposite pocket of the opponents outer row they are also taken. Furthermore, he selects another pair of opposite pockets in his opponents rows from which to remove the men therein contained. In making this choice the player is at liberty to pick out any pair of opposites, whether both are occupied or empty or but one of the pair is occupied.

Supposing that Ais playing, he may begin from the pocket marked 3, and picking up the men therein he drops them successively into the pockets at the left, thelast man drop ping into the empty pocket 8. He therefore is entitled to capture the men in his opponents opposite pockets 5 and 5. He is also at liberty to select any other pair of his opponents pocketsas, for instance,4 and 4'. B then plays. The winner is the one who captures all his opponents men.

Various rules and modifications thereof of course may be adopted, and the devices for playing the game maybe modified to a greater or less extent-as, for instance, the number of pockets may be varied or a greater or less number of men may be employed.

hat I claim as my invention is 1. Game devices consisting of a board and a series of movable men, the said board having parallel rows of depressions or pockets, the pockets of one row being opposite those of the other, and each of the pockets consist ing of an opening sufficiently large to receive therein several of said movable men, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. Game devices consisting of a board and a series of movable men, the said board having parallel rows of depressions or pockets, the pockets of one row being opposite those of the other and each of said pockets consisting of an opening sulliciently large to receive therein several of said movable men, and receptacle-depressions in said board suitable to contain captured men, substantially as described.

3. Devices for the playing of a game, substantially as described, consisting of a board and a series of movable men, the said board having four parallel rows of depressions or pockets, each of which consists of an opening; sufficien tly large to receive therein several of said movable men, the pockets of said rows being respectively opposite, substantially as shown.

ERWIN H. RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

G. T. STEWART, GEO. S. STEWART. 

